Reading Response 6

In her article "Decisions and Revisions: The Planning strategies of a Publishing Writer," Carol Berkenkotter explains the research she did on the writer Donald M. Murray, using the technique of the think-aloud protocol. This technique consists on having the writer telling you everything that comes to their mind without previous analysis.

The project was done in three stages. In the first stage Murray recorded his aloud thoughts during 62 days. In the second stage he also recorded his aloud thoughts but this time in a laboratory setting where he only had an hour to write about a certain topic to a certain audience that was given to him. I the third stage, Berkenkotter visited Murray at his home for two days.

After coding the process she got lots a results. She discovered that as the writers interviewed by Michael Keine in "What is it that we do when we write articles like this one and how can we get students to join us?," Murray moved back and forth between planning, translating, and reviewing his work. Berkenkotter was really surprised about the percentage of time that he spent on planning as opposed to the time he dedicated to revising his work. She also found fascinating his efforts to create a rhetorical context.


BEFORE YOU READ
I don't really like writing because it's always been hard for me, so whenever I need to write something I like to be alone in a quiet room. I often have a glass of Coke while I'm writing because it helps me keep awake and focused. Before I start typing, I write down notes on a piece of paper to get an idea of how my text is going to be.


QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND JOURNALING
1. I think that Murray's writing process was a lot similar to those we've already read about in this book. I think is really interesting how he goes back and forth looking for the best way to express his thoughts and always thinking in a rhetorical sense: his is always aware of his audience.

Compare to my writing process, I would say that I also go back and forth between planning, translating and reviewing my work but in a more superficial way. Also I realized that the only thing I'm looking for is to translate information and I never think about my audience.

3. Before this research, Berkenkotter had the idea that writers spent most of their time on revision, which means developing the ideas in a piece. After her study on Murray's writing process, she realized that time spent on it was too little and that what Murray really spent his time on was on planning and re-conceiving.


APPLYING AND EXPLORING IDEAS
1. I don't have a lot of experience in writing papers. All the writings I've ever done were for school and I think that when I wrote them I spent the majority of the time thinking about the content of it an how I was going to edit so I look "pretty," and I could get a good grade. I don't think I spend enough time on planning as I should do, instead I use that time for editing.


META MOMENT
I think that one of the most important things that they both agreed on, is to create a rhetorical context for the writing, always thinking about the audience and their needs.